“On the bright side of the fire-eater fiasco,” Evie continued, “your dad did manage to pull off the half-bald look pretty well, if I do say so myself.”
Romeo snorted. “He looked like Professor X’s evil twin brother for several months while his hair grew back.”
“Well, does baldness not suit Professor X?”
She had a good point.
“You’re right. I suppose it does,” Romeo said.
“Of course I’m right. I told you I’m right about most things,” Evie said, leaning into him a little to give him a playful nudge while facing forward. He could smell her sweet jasmine perfume when she did.
A comfortable quiet settled between them and Romeo glanced sideways at her. He was trying to be subtle with his staring, but he clearly wasn’t subtle enough because a moment later she glanced at him too, an impishness in her eyes.
“Your, uh, mom said you’ll be around for now. Do you think you’ll, uhm… have time to do other things before you head back?” he asked, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling rising at the surface. This time, it was because a very pretty girl was standing right next to him, and he did not know how to be normal about it.
She looked away, back out into the sea of people and cameras. “I’m here indefinitely, actually.”
“Oh, your mom said—”
“I know. I haven’t told my parents yet that I’m planning on staying for a little while longer. I’ve been looking for the right moment to let them know.”
Romeo was about to ask her whatthe right momentmeant when a sudden round of applause erupted across the room.
From the front entrance of the library he could see his sister Fola emerge, dressed in an oversized burgundy blazer dress and heeled boots that contrasted well with her honey-blond curls. She gave the crowd of at least fifty journalists a curt nod as she took her seat.
“Fola hasn’t changed one bit,” Evie said.
“If you mean her height, then that is very true. I think her last growth spurt was when we were ten,” Romeo joked.
“I meant her confidence, but I guess that too.” Evie gazed at Fola like she was the most interesting person in the room now.
Fola was quickly followed by Octavius, who ambled in in a state that Romeo was almost certain was an intoxicated one. Romeo rarely saw or spoke with his brother, outside of their bimonthly texts (which usually involved Romeo sending Octavius a funny meme and Octavius reacting with a mismatched emoji of some kind), but on the rare occasions Romeo did see him, he’d always have an absentminded air and a mask of positivity brought on by a drink or three.
Octavius’s drunken state was confirmed by the absurd grin on his face and the displeased look on Fola’s as he took his seat next to her.
As expected, last to enter was their father. He was a domineering figure. Despite being shorter than Bilal (which everyone was) he always felt taller, still, than any of the three brothers. His gray hair, which had thankfully grown back since the fire-eating incident, was slicked back, somehow making his already very severe appearance even more severe. Mr. Button’s presence inspired an immediate, revered hush before the loudest applause yet broke out. But, despite the clapping, a strange tension still swept the conference room as Mr. Button strode in. He gave the sea of journalists an abrupt wave and a tight smile as he made his way to his seat at the center of the table.
“The man of the hour,” Evie said, seemingly to herself, but Romeo nodded anyway, glancing down at her again and noticing a slight scowl on the ballerina’s face.
Before Romeo could give it a second thought, a very tall woman with a cropped platinum-blond bob, dressed handsomely in a pin-striped suit, went to a podium at the front of the room. Romeo recognized her as the headof his father’s publicity team. Her name was something like Claude or Chloe or Cleo.
Claude/Chloe/Cleo addressed the room with a dazzling veneered smile. “Hello, everyone. Thank you for your patience. My name is Claire, and I will be facilitating the questions for today’s very exclusive press conference. This is, as you know, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for unguarded access to this prominent family on this wonderful ten-year anniversary of the Prodigy Ball, celebrating the triumph that is the Button Method and the brilliant minds that believe in it. You are all privileged to be here,” Claire said, with a grin that felt sinister. “We only have time for one question per journalist, as you know, so please keep your question brief. I’ll be calling on you all individually to keep a concise system in place.”
“I take it you’re sitting this one out?” Evie whispered, pulling Romeo’s attention away.
“What?” Romeo whispered back.
“The press conference. You’re not up there,” she said, stating the obvious.
Of course I’m not up there, Romeo thought. He couldn’t tell if Evie really didn’t know why he wasn’t or was just playing naive to spare his feelings. He looked at her closely. She seemed to be genuinely asking.
“Yeah, I guess I’m not,” Romeo whispered back. He wasn’t sure how else he was meant to respond.
Why am I not up there? Because, unlike my siblings, I am not a prodigy. In fact I am the furthest you could get from genius.
“I’d sit it out too. I hate cameras,” Evie replied.
“Don’t they film your ballet performances?” he asked, trying to shift gears.
